


Movie Night

by missrainbowpie



Series: Arkadian Nights: Prompts from My Inbox :) [3]
Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: Dad!Kane, Everybody is happy for once. :), F/M, Fluff, General fluff, Humor, Movie Night, Romance, Slightly Smutty, Tumblr Prompt, mom!Abby
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-24
Updated: 2016-05-24
Packaged: 2018-06-10 09:45:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,780
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6951325
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/missrainbowpie/pseuds/missrainbowpie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kane and Abby watch a movie together with the rest of Arkadia. Post-S3. Basically pure fluff. <3</p>
            </blockquote>





	Movie Night

**Author's Note:**

> Written in response to a movie-watching prompt from my Tumblr inbox. Also, let’s just pretend that the radiation plot twist didn’t happen for the sake of this story because I don’t feel like rewriting this monstrosity to make it more canon compliant… Okay? Oh, and Sinclair is still alive because THAT DID NOT HAPPEN DAMN IT.

Monty saw the goggles first. Then he saw the man wearing them and felt as though he was back on the Ark, happy and naive, before the ground had inflicted so much pain on them both. But he was on the ground now, quite literally, sitting on the grass under a tree at the outskirts of Arkadia. Shade from the wide canopy of leaves cast flickering shadows over Jasper as he came to a stop before Monty.

“Hi,” he said.

Monty stayed silent for a moment, then: “You’re wearing your goggles again.”

Jasper’s hand went up to touch the goggles that were back in their rightful place on his head. His fingers trailed over the tinted lenses. “Yeah. Raven thought… Well, I thought it was time.”

Monty smiled. “I missed those goggles.” _I missed you._ They had repaired their friendship long before today, but sometimes he found himself missing what they had on the Ark. They had been happy then. They were trying so desperately to find that happiness again, but it was hard. The goggles were only the first step.

“Me too.” Jasper sat down beside Monty under the tree and pulled his legs up to his chest. “So… What are you doing?”

To take his mind off of the recent events with A.L.I.E., Monty had thrown himself into a side project of his: salvaging one of the televisions from the Ark and making it work again. He had managed to find one that wasn't totally destroyed upon landing on Earth, but the problem he kept running into was power. Or more importantly, the lack of power. What little power Arkadia had was being used for essential systems; unfortunately old movies weren’t exactly essential.

“Watching old movies is _so_ essential,” Jasper argued.

“I doubt the Chancellors will see it that way,” Monty said. “I don’t want to bring this to them until I have a way to power the TV monitor--”

“You could always...”

“-- _without_ stealing power from the Ark mainframe.”

Jasper sighed dramatically. “Fine.” He flopped back onto the ground. A ray of sunlight filtered through the leaves and glinted off of his goggles, directly into Monty’s eyes. Monty was blinded for a moment, but then it was as though the light illuminated an idea in his mind.

“Jasper, you’re a genius!”

“What?” Jasper sat up again, startled.

“The solar panels were designed to be operated in space! But now they’re on the ground. If I could just…” He excitedly outlined his newly formed plan to Jasper.

“Sounds good. Let’s go!” Jasper stood up and waited expectantly, hovering over Monty.

“Where?”

“To see the Chancellors.” He said it as though it was obvious.

“Jasper, we can’t just ‘go see the Chancellors.’”

“Why not?”

“I just came up with this idea. I’m not even sure if it’ll work yet.”

“But you need their permission to test it, so let’s go.” Jasper pulled Monty up off the ground and started running before he had a chance to protest.

He ran surprisingly fast for someone who was still recovering from a gunshot wound to the leg; his limp was almost imperceptible now. After he awakened from A.L.I.E.’s control, it would have been so easy for him to fall back into the pit of depression he had called home for too long, but he refused. He wouldn’t let his injury impact his happiness, something Monty suspected Raven had taught him, if not in so many words. She was a woman who led by example.

He let himself get caught up in Jasper’s excitement, running a few steps behind him. The wind blew through his jet-black hair, and he felt free. They were finally running towards something with happiness instead of away in fear, and it was a _good_ feeling.

They didn’t stop running until they reached the Chancellors’ office. Jasper barreled right through the open door then stopped abruptly next to the sector map on their left, causing Monty to crash into him.

“Dude, what the--” Then he saw why Jasper had stopped.

Chancellor Marcus Kane and Chancellor Abby Griffin were kissing. Like _really_ kissing. Just going at it in the far right corner of the room behind the table. Her hands were tangled in his hair, and his hands were at the small of her back, sliding underneath her blue jacket, and honestly it was a little traumatizing. Adults should _not_ be allowed to do that. Then he heard what sounded like a growl… Ew.

Seemingly reading his mind, Jasper cleared his throat and said, “Maybe you guys should close the door next time.”

Monty stifled a laugh as they jumped apart immediately. Chancellor Kane crossed his arms and glared, but the faint blush spreading across his cheeks betrayed his embarrassment. Chancellor Griffin just straightened her jacket and smirked, like this wasn’t the first time she had been caught in a compromising position. She glanced at Kane, amused, then walked around to the other side of the table to meet Monty and Jasper.

“Is there something we can do for you boys?” she asked. She quirked an eyebrow as if daring them to comment on what they had just seen. Kane was still glaring at them from the corner.

Everyone in Arkadia knew that Kane and Abby were more than just co-Chancellors. There had been rumors about them ever since Clarke had found A.L.I.E.’s kill switch. They didn’t deny these rumors, but they also didn’t broadcast the fact that they were a couple. They kept their private life private. Mostly.

“Um, well,” Monty began. “I had an idea about how to increase power output from the solar panels, and I wanted to run it by you.”

Kane’s glare softened, and he came around the table to stand by Abby. He gave her a subtle nod.

“Say no more,” she said. “Talk to Sinclair. You can have whatever resources you need.”

Monty was surprised at how quickly they agreed to his plan, but he wasn’t about to argue. “Thank you,” he said. He started to leave, but Jasper elbowed him in the ribs right where he had stabbed him a few months ago. Monty couldn’t tell if it was intentional, but he had the strong suspicion that it was. “Right, um… Jasper and I were hoping to use some of the new power for a project of ours.” Jasper had only known about this project for a few minutes, but Monty didn’t hesitate to include him in his statement. This may have started out as an individual project, but now that Jasper knew about it, it was their project. They did almost everything together, and this would be no exception.

Kane’s angled towards them. “Not growing more ‘medicinal herbs,’ I hope.” He gave them a stern look, yet his eyes twinkled with humor.

It was surreal to be having this conversation with the man who had arrested them, Monty thought, but the ground had changed everything. “No,” he smiled. “We’re restoring one of the TV monitors from the Ark. It’s one of the few that wasn’t damaged in the landing on Earth. We thought everyone might like to watch movies again. After everything that’s happened…” He squeezed his eyes shut as the memories he was trying so hard to forget came flooding back into his mind. His mom had loved movies; that was the real reason he was working so hard to fix a broken TV monitor. He was doing it for her. If he could fix the monitor and salvage some movies from the Ark’s computer archive, maybe the oppressive guilt he felt would begin to fade away.

Monty felt Jasper’s hand on his shoulder, and the dark clouds that had descended upon his mind disappeared, leaving only clear blue skies in their wake. He was so grateful that he and Jasper were best friends again. Things were better with him.

Jasper continued speaking to the Chancellors for Monty. “Well, unlike you two, not everyone has a make-out buddy. The rest of us have to live vicariously through movies.”

Kane’s scowl returned, along with the redness on his cheeks, but Abby just laughed. Then somehow Kane managed to glare at them while simultaneously looking at Abby like she was his whole world, like her laugh was the most magical thing he had ever heard.

“You’re right,” Abby said. “I think it’s a wonderful idea. Arkadia could use a boost in morale.” Her eyes flickered with the same pain as Monty’s. He knew that look -- she had shot someone too. Not a family member, like Monty had, but he knew that killing a stranger would affect her just as deeply. She had always had an overwhelming empathy; that was what made her such a great doctor. She shut her eyes against what he assumed was an onslaught of painful memories.

Then Kane’s hand appeared on her shoulder in the same way Jasper’s had appeared on Monty’s moments earlier. Her eyes opened at the contact, and she angled her head towards his hand. A hint of a smile passed over her lips.

“If you can increase the power output of the solar panels, you can use as much of the new power as you need,” Kane said, effectively dismissing them.

Monty nodded his thanks and left with Jasper. About three steps into the hallway, they heard Kane call after them: “Close the door, please.” They doubled back and shut the door, then burst out laughing.

* * *

Abby slid out from under Kane’s hand that was still on her shoulder and turned around to stand in front of him. She raised a perfectly-shaped eyebrow. “And just what do you think is going to happen with the door closed?” This had been the perfect way to spend their lunch break so far, and she certainly hoped he had something more in mind.

He shrugged. “I thought we could talk,” he said innocently. But his eyes were anything but innocent. He _definitely_ had something more in mind.

She crossed her arms and appraised him. Two could play at this game. If he wanted to talk, they were going to talk. “Were you embarrassed when they walked in on us?”

He considered her for a moment, as if trying to buy time to think of an answer. Eventually he just settled on “No.” He sat on the edge of the table, his hands gripping the edge.

She stepped between his legs and pressed the back of her hand to his cheek, feeling how warm his skin was beneath his coarse beard. “Uh huh. Sure,” she teased. She let her fingers trail through his beard, something she found herself doing more and more of lately, before pulling away.

He finally admitted defeat. “Maybe I was… embarrassed.” The last word was barely more than a whisper.

A ridiculous expression took over his face then. He seemed so scandalized by these feelings of embarrassment, like he was personally offended by them, and she couldn’t help it: she laughed at him.

“Marcus, they’re kids! Who cares what they think?”

He sort of pouted a little and gave her a noncommittal shrug. He looked like a kid himself, and it was completely, utterly, impossibly adorable. Just when she thought she couldn’t possibly love him more.

“Clarke walked in on me and Jake once. Traumatizing your kids is part of being a parent. It’s pretty fun actually.” Her fingers ghosted over the chain hanging from her neck. A.L.I.E. had stolen most of her memories of Jake; she was grateful to have them all back, the good and the bad. She was also grateful that she and Marcus were at a point in their relationship where mentioning Jake wasn’t a big deal. It used to be. It used to cause flickers of guilt and pain, so she avoided his name entirely. She knew that Marcus felt guilt over arresting his friend, and she certainly felt guilt for her part in Jake’s execution, but in the last few months they had managed to move past it. They now focused on the good memories. Jake was a major part of their past and would continue to make his way into their conversations; Marcus didn’t even bat an eye now.

He smiled. “I’m not a parent, Abby.”

“We’re co-Chancellors; we’re _everyone’s_ parents.”

He nodded thoughtfully, then a playful gleam returned to his eyes. He pressed his arm around her waist and pulled her body flush against his, running his other hand down her arm; she felt a shiver travel down her spine. “Let’s get back to traumatizing our kids then,” he said. He lowered his lips to hers, and she melted into his touch. Without breaking contact with her lips, he began sliding her jacket off. As soon as it fell to the floor, she tangled her hands in his soft hair once again and pulled him closer, slipping her tongue into his mouth. They stumbled backwards, and he lowered her onto the couch.

As his lips laved fire down her neck, she said, “Did you want to open the door again, or…?” The words came out a bit more breathlessly than she had intended.

He looked up at her and perched his chin on her rib cage. He furrowed his eyebrows. “Why?”

“To traumatize any kids who come barging in.”

He surged up to meet her and kissed her, hard, bruising her lips, and she met him with equal force. When he pulled away, he bit down lightly on her earlobe, and she arched her back. “Maybe later,” he murmured. Her only response was a low moan.

* * *

Marcus brushed Abby’s tousled hair behind her ear as she slept on the couch. He smiled down at her. He loved watching her sleep, but he especially loved it when she fell asleep because of him. He always felt particularly proud that he could wear her out so completely, even when they didn’t really do anything at all. This was their office, so sadly that meant her clothes were still on, if a bit mussed up. Her gray Henley shirt was offset on her shoulder; he could see a red mark on her collarbone, _his_ mark, so he slid her shirt back into place to cover it, despite the fact that she probably wouldn’t be embarrassed by it. She would, however, be mad at him for leaving her so exposed in their office. Finally, he pulled a blanket over her small frame and tucked it under her chin, kissing her cheek. He didn’t want to leave, but he had an idea, and it would be best to sort it out while she was still sleeping. This was going to be a surprise. Her reaction in a few days would be well worth leaving her now.

He softly shut the metal door to the office then headed in the direction of Engineering. He and Monty had a lot of planning to do if this was going to work.

* * *

_TWO DAYS LATER_

Abby giggled and tried to pull his hands away from her eyes. “Marcus, where are we going?”

He held firm as he walked behind her, leading her outside onto the grass. It was a warm summer night, and the sun had just dipped below the horizon, the orange sky now shrouded beneath a curtain of dark blue speckled with stars. “You’ll see,” he said.

“Marcus…” Her tone was threatening, a warning. If he didn’t let her open her eyes soon, she might kill him, and god damn it if he wasn’t completely charmed by her. She was so demanding, and it was _so cute._

He smiled, leading her further outside. “Trust me.” She huffed in protest, and he had to bite his lip to keep from laughing. He doubted she would think it was funny if she knew he thought she was adorable when she argued with him.

She tripped on the uneven ground, and he caught her in his arms. Despite her protests, she diligently kept her eyes closed even though his hands weren’t covering them anymore. He heard laughter to his left and looked over to see Raven watching them from her seat at a table, wearing her usual red jacket and holding a drink in her hand.

“There are people watching us, aren’t there?” Abby sighed as he placed his hands back over her eyes.

“Hey Abby!” Raven yelled. She winked at Marcus and gave him a big thumbs up. “Don’t worry - your boyfriend’s got a great surprise for you.”

Marcus could feel Abby roll her eyes beneath his palms. “Two more steps,” he said into her ear. He maneuvered her into place, then stopped and took his hands away, placing them lightly on her shoulders. “Okay.”

He heard her sharp intake of breath as she finally saw his surprise. The once cold and desolate yard was now lit by the glow of hundreds of candles. The flat-screen TV monitor that Monty and Jasper had repaired was in the center, several cords leading back inside to the Engineering section. Surrounding the monitor were dozens of blankets and pillows resting on the grass. Some people were already sitting on them, talking among themselves.

Abby turned around to face Marcus, and he could see the quizzical wonder in her eyes. “Marcus, what is this?”

He gestured behind her at Monty, Jasper, and Sinclair, who were standing around the monitor setting things up. “We set up a movie night for Arkadia.”

The look in her eyes told him that this had been the perfect surprise. She was a woman who cared more about her people than herself. A standard romantic gesture like flowers would have been appreciated (and had been on more than one occasion), but doing something nice for her _and_ all of their “kids” was much more meaningful.

Her brown eyes glistened with tears as she smiled at him. “Thank you,” she said. Her words were so full of sentiment, and he got the feeling that she was thanking him for more than just the surprise.

He put his hand on her shoulder, a gesture so comfortable and familiar to him now. She always smiled so sweetly when his hand hit the fabric of her jacket. “Thank _you,_ ” he said with equal depth. He would have kissed her then were it not for the eyes he felt watching them. And Jasper’s pointed cough.

He removed his hand from her shoulder and stepped back to a less intimate distance. “I told Monty and Jasper that they could pick the first movie since this was their idea.”

Abby turned to the boys. “What did you pick?”

They grinned. “ _The Room,_ ” they said at the same time, drawing out the vowels.

Marcus sent a confused look to Abby, and she mirrored his expression. Apparently she had never heard of it either.

“It’s the _worst_ movie of all time,” Jasper said gleefully.

“Which is why it’s the best,” Monty added.

Jasper clapped Monty on the shoulder. “Oh hai, Mark.”

“You’re tearing me apart, Lisa!” Monty yelled back in a weird accent.

“You’re just a little chicken!”

Then they both made weird squawking noises and cracked up laughing. Marcus looked past them at Sinclair who shrugged and mouthed _I don’t know._

Abby pulled Marcus aside as the boys continued setting up the movie for Arkadia. “The ‘worst movie of all time?’ How romantic,” she teased, lightly swatting him on the arm.

“You can pick next week’s movie.”

Before they could say anything else, he heard Clarke’s voice. “Mom!” The young blonde waved and walked over to them.

He watched as she pulled Abby into a hug. Abby always clung to her daughter a little longer than necessary, like at any moment she would be ripped from her grasp. As someone who had once caused them to be torn apart, he couldn’t say he blamed her for feeling this way. He watched Abby fondly as she pulled away from Clarke; he always watched for the smiles that appeared on her lips in her daughter’s presence. He loved seeing the motherly side of Abby. In many ways she reminded him of his own mother’s kind spirit. But as he was watching her bright smile, Clarke did something that she hadn’t done since she was little: she hugged him too. He froze momentarily, unsure of what to do, but then he wrapped his arms tightly around the young woman’s frame.

“Thank you,” she said softly against his jacket.

Up close, she seemed so vulnerable, and he suddenly got the strong urge to stroke her hair and tell her that everything would be okay, but they hadn’t cultivated that type of relationship yet, so he didn’t. Instead he pulled away from her embrace but left his hands on her shoulders. He was vaguely aware of Abby watching their interaction. “For what?” he asked.

“Monty and Jasper told me you set this whole thing up.”

He got the distinct feeling that she was thanking him for more than just that, the same feeling he had felt when Abby thanked him minutes earlier. Like mother, like daughter.

So he replied the same way he had replied to Abby: “Thank _you._ None of this would have been possible if you hadn’t saved us.”

At that, she smiled slightly and looked down, like she had the weight of the world on her shoulders. He instantly regretted mentioning the City of Light. He squeezed her shoulder in a sort of apology, then let go.

Some of the other Arkers began to settle onto the pillows around the monitor. He heard Raven yelling, ”It’s movie time, people, let’s go!”

“Come on,” Marcus said. He led them to an area off to the side underneath a large oak tree. He had already set up a viewing spot for them beforehand, a pile of colorful pillows and blankets covering the ground beneath the tree. They were different from the usual monochrome gray fabric from the Ark; these were brightly-colored with unusual patterns sewn into them.

“Where did these come from?” Abby asked.

Clarke answered for him. “Polis.” She stared at an interlocking circular pattern on one of the pillows, and there was a sliver of pain beneath her matter-of-fact tone.

“She’s right,” he said, watching Clarke with concern. “I found them in the Polis marketplace yesterday.”

Abby sat down on the pillows. “So that’s where you went on your ‘walk’ yesterday.”

“Well, no, I took a rover,” he clarified. “Indra helped pick out the…”

He trailed off mid-sentence as Abby leaned back and stretched her arms above her head. He wasn’t sure if she was trying to seduce him, but it was working. His mind began to envision all of the other things they could do on these pillows, the way her hair would look spread out against the bright red fabric, the way her bare skin would contrast against the deep purple blanket, the muffled scream she’d let out as he…

Clarke nudged him. “Are you going to sit down or were you planning to stare at my mom all night?”

Abby smirked at him, that playful, infuriating smirk, and yes, she knew exactly what kind of effect she had on him. He smirked right back, trying to ignore the blush creeping over his cheeks. He had just been caught fantasizing about her by her _daughter,_ and he could not understand how Abby was so unembarrassed by all this.

Clarke smiled at him and settled next to her mother, and Marcus followed suit, sitting on Abby’s other side. His hand landed two centimeters from hers. Without looking at him, she closed the distance so that their hands were just barely touching. He placed his pinky finger over hers and saw her smile out of the corner of his eye.

“Attention!” Raven yelled. Marcus winced. She was loud enough for all of Arkadia to hear, possibly loud enough for Polis to hear. “Okay,” she said, placing a hand on her hip. “As most of you know, Monty, Sinclair, and I have repaired this TV monitor, making it possible to watch movies again. Because we’re awesome.”

“Hey!” Jasper said.

“Jasper… was there,” Raven said to a chorus of laughter.

Jasper puffed out his chest proudly and patted the goggles on his head. “If it weren’t for these beauties, Monty never would have gotten the idea to upgrade the solar panels.”

“Yes, I would have!” Monty said.

“No, you wouldn’t have. You called me a _genius,_ remember?”

“Did not.”

“Did too.”

“Anyway,” Raven interjected. “Tonight’s selection is _The Room,_ apparently. For the record, I would have chosen something way better.” She let her head fall back and to the left towards Monty and Jasper. “The worst movie of all time? Really, guys?”

“More like the best movie of all time,” Jasper said.

Raven rolled her eyes at him, facing forward again, and Marcus saw him bite back a grin. He recognized that look. That was how he found himself looking at Abby every time she argued with him. Lately he had noticed Jasper and Raven spending more and more time together. Regardless of whether they were dating or merely friends, Marcus thought they were good together. He couldn’t help it; he wanted all of his “kids” to be happy, and after the hell Jasper and Raven had been through, he was glad to see them persevering together.

Raven continued. “Finally, before we get started, let’s all take a moment to thank Chancellor Kane for organizing movie night. We all know he only did it to surprise his girlfriend,” she said the last word in a sing-song voice, “but we really appreciate it too.” She looked directly at him. “So thanks.” There was a round of cheers, and Abby squeezed his pinky finger with her own.

“Let’s get started!” Jasper said.

He and Monty made a big show of turning on the movie, like it was some sacred ceremony, but it didn’t go according to plan. It didn’t start when they pressed the “play” button on the monitor, and Raven had to follow the extension cords back inside and check the connection in Engineering. There were a few minutes of awkward small talk, but eventually she must have found the problem because the movie flickered to life on the screen. The poorly-composed opening shots of what Marcus recognized to be San Francisco were a little staticky at first, but everything cleared up after a few minutes, and people quieted down to watch.

Abby leaned against his shoulder, and he brought a thick, quilted blanket up around them both. Clarke sat cross-legged on Abby’s other side. For the first time since he and Abby had begun their relationship, he felt like a part of their family, rather than just an outsider. The transition had begun soon after he had explained to Clarke that he would never try to replace her father. Once upon a time, he had been Jake’s friend; he would never dream of disparaging such a good man. He had had the same conversation with Abby as well when he saw her removing Jake’s ring from around her neck one night.

_“No, don’t,” he said, stilling her fingers with his hand. “Keep it.”_

_She just smiled and said, “I know.”_

It turned out she was just taking it off so she wouldn’t choke in her sleep, not because she thought he wanted her to remove it. He then realized that she already knew he wanted her to keep wearing Jake’s ring, that he would never want her to lose her memories of him again. He was such an important part of her past and should always remain close to her heart.

He pulled Abby across his body and leaned her back against his chest, wrapping both of his arms around her as they continued watching _The Room._ It was horrible, just as Monty and Jasper had promised, but the bad acting was also extremely entertaining. Abby laughed her sparkling laugh, and he pressed a kiss to the top of her head. Clarke smiled at the action.

When they returned to Arkadia after the battle of Polis, Clarke had approached him while he was on watch in the guard tower.

“You make her happy,” she had said without any preamble, glancing down at her mother in the courtyard below. He hadn’t known what to say in response at the time, but he was glad to have her approval.

He saw Clarke shiver in the nighttime chill.

“Are you cold?” he asked quietly.

Abby stirred in his arms and opened her mouth, as if to answer his question, but stayed silent when she realized he was talking to her daughter. Her lips curled upward into a small smile, and she resumed her position against his chest.

“It’s fine,” Clarke said. But she didn’t seem fine, and he suspected that she was just like her mother, stubborn and unwilling to admit weakness.

“No, here,” he insisted. He removed his Guard jacket and slipped it over her shoulders. She didn’t put her arms into the sleeves, but she wrapped it around her body and bowed her head in thanks.

Abby reached a hand behind her to caress his cheek. She left her fingers in his beard, absentmindedly running them through the coarse, untrimmed hair. He might have gone back to the cleaner look he had on the Ark, but she was always finding excuses to run her fingers through his hair, and he wasn’t willing to give that up just yet. He slid his hand down her forearm, caressing her smooth skin with his thumb in slow circles. They sat like that for over an hour, resting in comfortable silence.

“Thank you, Marcus,” Abby said again as the movie came to an end. She squeezed his hand, holding it against her waist. “They’re all so happy.”

He looked out at their people spread across the field, laughing and talking now that the credits were rolling.

Sinclair helped Raven get up from her spot on the ground. She was perfectly capable of getting up on her own, and everyone in Arkadia knew that they would get an earful if they tried to help her, so they didn’t even bother anymore. But Marcus noticed that she always let Sinclair and Abby help her. He got the feeling that they were the parents she never had. He smiled. He couldn’t think of two people more qualified for the job.

Marcus shifted his focus to Monty, who was cuddling with Harper right in front of the screen with Jasper on her other side. The boys were pointing at the credits, as if enthralling her with trivia about the film. It was obviously one of their favorites.

Dr. Jackson was near them, cuddling with a pretty brunette that Marcus hadn’t met before, and Murphy was sitting across from Emori at a table, making emphatic hand gestures about something. Perhaps he was trying to explain the concept of movies to her.

Everyone really did seem happy.

“Are you happy?” he asked Abby before he could stop himself. Despite Clarke saying that her mother was happy because of him, he still didn’t quite believe it. He still doubted that she could really love a man like him, despite the fact that they had exchanged those particular three words months ago, almost immediately after they were free from A.L.I.E.’s influence and finally reunited. He cared so deeply for her, and he knew she cared for him, but not too long ago he had advocated for her execution. Could she really be happy with the man who had once tried to kill her? Maybe, but he definitely didn’t deserve her.

Her fingers stalled in their path through the hair on his forearm. She twisted around in his arms and kneeled between his legs, cupping his face in both of her hands. She leaned forward and kissed him. It wasn’t a deep kiss, but it was just as powerful, if not more so. She pressed her lips against his with such urgency, like she had only seconds to convince him that he _did_ deserve her. When she pulled away, she stared directly into his eyes, and he almost wanted to look away because the intensity of her gaze was so great. “I _am_ happy,” she said.

“Aaand that’s my cue,” Clarke said, visibly uncomfortable with their public display of affection. She stood up and slid his jacket off of her shoulders, handing it back to him. “Thanks,” she said. Then she leaned down to kiss her mother’s cheek and walked towards Bellamy, who was sitting at a table across the yard with Bryan and Miller. Her stride was that of a leader, purposeful and strong. Marcus had come to admire her strength, and he thought that she would make a wonderful Chancellor someday.

“She’s doing better,” Abby remarked, settling back against his chest.

Clarke’s time in the City of Light had almost killed her, and he knew she would be wrestling her demons for years to come, just as he would. They were similar in many respects. She had been carrying her guilt around with her for months, since long before A.L.I.E. nearly destroyed everything. But A.L.I.E. had also brought unity between the Arkers and the Grounders. This temporary peace was gradually becoming permanent, and with each passing day, Marcus found himself breathing a little easier. He wondered how long it would take for him to feel completely safe on the ground. Looking at the beautiful woman still in his arms, he thought that day might come sooner than he thought.

He kissed her cheek, then pulled her soft, wavy hair to one side and kissed down her neck. He wasn’t usually a fan of showing affection in public like this, but they were sitting away from the main crowd, and it was dark enough that nobody was likely to notice. And he had all these _things_ he wanted to do to her on these pillows. He wondered just how much he could get away with in such a public space. He kissed farther down her neck, sucking slightly on her pulse point, not hard enough to leave a mark, but enough to cause her to gasp.

He let one of his hands tease its way up her thigh, and he decided to quote one of the more ridiculous lines from the movie then, speaking against her skin: “Anyway, how is your sex life?”

He was rewarded with another radiant laugh, and she stood up, holding her hand out to him. “Getting better,” she said.

_THE END._

**Author's Note:**

> If you want to watch a compilation of funny scenes from _The Room,_ watch "The Room (2003) - Funniest Scenes" on YouTube. (The lines I used in the story are at 2:40, 3:25, and 4:00.) Also, would anybody be interested in reading a Jasper/Raven companion fic to this story? WHERE ARE MY JAVEN SHIPPERS?


End file.
